The Hardest Yards (so far).

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.

Don’t forget to click the link to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.

What has been the hardest format to write in for you?

I’m assuming that you mean genre. And I write in quite a few.

There’s Science Fiction, Steampunk, Psychological Thrillers and Fantasy. Plus a few genre mashups, like Crime in Space.

I’ve also written a non-fiction guide to worldbuilding.

They all have/had their challenges but some are easier to write than others.

Perhaps surprisingly, I found the guide to worldbuilding to be the easiest one to write. Because it was a collection of my opinions and suggestions, it didn’t need to pass any sort of test for accuracy and realism.

When it comes to fiction, everything you create or use requires research. The precise requirements vary between genres. I’ve found that the more you write about what people know, the more accurate you need to be.

So in my Sci-fi and Steampunk, as long as the science is sound, the rest can be pretty much what I want. I can invent planets, spaceships and technology to my heart’s content. Providing consistency and logic is underpinning it all.

The bonus is that, once I have a functioning future, I can use it as a base for multiple projects.

On the other hand, because my psychological thrillers are set in the real world, they need a different kind of accuracy.

A lot more attention to detail is required. As everything can easily be checked (online or in person), it all has to be true, not just sound like it could be true.

For example, I need to make sure that the settings are shown exactly as they would appear, should you visit them. Also, it’s important that any distances and the timings for travel between locations are correct. Medical details or the cultural and social aspects of life need to be consistent with the time period the story is set in.

Because you will always get a reader who lives on the street you’ve used as a setting. Or one who will have driven down the same road as your characters.

And they won’t be shy in telling you (and the world) if you’ve got it wrong.

What do you think about this week’s subject?

Let me know by leaving me a comment.

While you’re here, please click the InLinkz link to check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.

Until next time.

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